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History of Nickelodeon
TBD. Late 1970s 1980s 1990s On June 7, 1990, Nickelodeon opened Nickelodeon Studios, a hybrid television production facility/attraction at Universal Studios Florida in Orlando, Florida, where many of its sitcoms and game shows were filmed. It also entered into a multimillion-dollar joint marketing agreement with Pizza Hut, which provided a new kid-targeted publication Nickelodeon Magazine for free at the chain's participating restaurants. In 1991, Nickelodeon debuted three new live-action comedy series: The Adventures of Pete & Pete, Welcome Freshmen, Clarissa Explains It All, and Salute Your Shorts; Nickelodeon also debuted its first sets of original animated series – Doug, Rugrats, and The Ren & Stimpy Show – all under the Nicktoons banner. The three series found success by 1993, resulting in the creation of the network's fourth Nicktoon, Rocko's Modern Life, which also became a success. On August 15, 1992, Nickelodeon launched a Saturday primetime block called TEENick from 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific Time, specifically to target teenage audience. It became home to nearly all of the network's live-action sitcoms. After a three-year absence following suspension of the publication in 1990, Nickelodeon resumed Nickelodeon Magazine under a pay/subscription model in June 1993. In 1994, Nickelodeon launched The Big Help; the program is intended to encourage activity and environmental preservation by children. That same year, Nickelodeon removed You Can't Do That on Television from its schedule after a 13-year run and subsequently debuted a new sketch comedy show, All That. For many years, until its cancellation in 2005, All That would launch the careers of several actors and actresses, some of whom starring in their own shows, to which the series' executive producer, Dan Schneider, would go on to create in the 2000s and 2010s era. Also in 1994, Nickelodeon debuted the Nicktoon Aaahh!!! Real Monsters, and the live-action The Secret World of Alex Mack and My Brother and Me. In 1996, Herb Scannell was named President of Nickelodeon, Nick at Nite and the latter's recently launched spinoff channel TV Land, succeeding Geraldine Laybourne. Nickelodeon also released its first feature-length film in theaters in 1996, an adaptation of the Louise Fitzhugh novel, Harriet the Spy, starring Michelle Trachtenberg and Rosie O'Donnell. The film went on to earn twice its $13 million budget. Also in 1996, Nickelodeon debuted two more live-action comedies: Spaces Cases and Kenan & Kal, the former being cancelled after just two seasons while the latter achieved high ratings and lasting into the middle of 2000. 1997 was a watershed year for Nickelodeon. Up through the 1990s, Saturday morning cartoons had been the most popular children's programs on television. In part because of the imposition of educational television mandates on all broadcast stations in 1996, Nickelodeon and other children's-oriented cable networks (never subject to those mandates as they did not broadcast over the air) now had an advantage in not having to have its programs comply with the mandate. By 1997, Nickelodeon's Saturday morning lineup had shot ahead of all of its broadcast competition, where it would remain for the next several years. Also in 1997, two new Nicktoons debuted: Hey Arnold! and KaBlam!. In 1998, Nickelodeon debuted two Nicktoons: CatDog and The WildThornberrys, as well as an animated showcase Oh Yeah! Nicktoons and a live-action comedy series Cousin Skeeter. Also later that year, Nickelodeon adapted its popular Rugrats Nicktoon onto the big screen with The Rugrats Movie, which grossed more than $100 million in the United States and became the first non-Disney animated movie to ever earn that much. In 1999, Nickelodeon debuted one more live-action comedy series 100 Deeds for Eddie McDowd and two more Nicktoons: Rocket Power and SpongeBob SquarePants, with the latter becoming the most popular Nicktoon in the channel's history, consistently ranking as the channel's highest-rated series throughout the 2000s era. 2000s In July 2000, Nickelodeon debuted a new live-action sitcom The Brothers Garcia. In September 2000, Nickelodeon launched a Friday primetime block called Nicktoons Fridays from 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. (later 12 midnight) Eastern and Pacific Time which became the marquee night for new episodes and premieres of animated Nicktoon series, similar to the live-action teenage-targeted TEENick block. In October 2000, TEENick debuted Noah Knows Best and As Told by Ginger; the former was short-lived while the latter not only became a ratings success for Nickelodeon but was also the network's first animated series to not bare the Nicktoons banner mainly because the show is specifically targeted at teenagers. However, it is still treated as a Nicktoon regardless as the show would air regularly every weeknight during primetime hours (excluding Nicktoons Fridays). In November 2000, Nickelodeon released another film adaptation of the popular Rugrats franchise, Rugrats in Paris: The Movie, which grossed over 103.3 million worldwide. 2001 saw the debuts of four new original series: The Fairly OddParents ''(originated from shorts aired on Oh Yeah! Nicktoons), ''Invader Zim, Action League Now! ''and ''Taina. In late 2001, Nickelodeon theatrically released Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, which was based on twelve three-minute animated shorts shown on the network between the years 1999 and 2001, and a pilot in 1998; the film became successful critical and financial wise, leading to a Nicktoon spin-off of the same name a year later in 2002. Also debuted in 2002 was ChalkZone, another Nicktoon that originated from shorts aired on Oh Yeah! Nicktoons. 2003 saw the debuts of three new original series: Rugrats, All Grown Up! ''(a spin-off of the original popular ''Rugrats Nicktoon) and Romeo! on TEENick, and My Life as a Teenage Robot (the second to last originating from shorts aired on Oh Yeah! Nicktoons) under the Nicktoons banner. Also in 2003, Nickelodeon released a crossover theatrical film Rugrats Go Wild, featuring characters from both Rugrats and The Wild Thornberrys. 2004 saw the debuts of two more Nicktoons: Danny Phantom, the second series created by The Fairly OddParents creator Butch Hartman, and El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera;'' three more live-action sitcoms also debuted this year for the ''TEENick block: Drake & Josh, Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide, and Unfabulous. On October 1, the Nicktoons Fridays block was rebooted in a live-action format as "Fridays", hosted by Tommy Snider and Nzinga Blake. On November 19, Nickelodeon released its popular SpongeBob Nicktoon onto the big screen, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie; it received generally positive reviews and was financially successful. In 2005, Nickelodeon premiered four more original series: Zoey 101, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Catscratch, and The X's. On June 13, Nickelodeon rebranded, which included a rotating 3D version of its newly digital on-screen graphic splat logo and a new slogan, "This is Nickelodeon!" The bumpers introduced as part of the rebrand featured 2D Nicktoon characters interacting in a CGI city composed of sets from their respective shows; these bumpers lasted from 2005 to 2008. By now, nearly all of Nickelodeon's classic programming had been relocated to its spin-off network Toonscoms to make way for new programming. In late 2005, the popular Teenage Robot Nicktoon was also released onto the big screen: Teenage Robot: The Movie; it is Nickelodeon's most financially successful film to date. Nickelodeon then premiered The Naked Brothers Band, Just for Kicks, Just Jordan, and, Mr. Meaty, all in 2006, followed a year later in 2007 by Tak and the Power of Juju, Barnyard, iCarly,' '''and ''Making Fiends; Tak and the Power of Juju ''was based on the 2003 video game of the same name and ''Barnyard ''was a spin-off of the 2006 theatrical film of the same name. On June 3, 2007, Nickelodeon launched a new Sunday evening primetime programming block called ''Nick's Weekend Wrap-Up, which aired premieres, new episodes, and reruns of acquired programming, as well as a few of the network's original animated and/or live-action programming. From September 2007 to December 2008, the older Nicktoons from the 1990s that were no longer in production were moved exclusively to the half-hour (later full-hour) long block known as The Nicktoon Classics Show, where they were each viewed as 11-minute long segments. 2010s